New Delhi/London:
The Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) has been inundated with allegations that it awarded contracts to companies that overpriced products and services.
NDTV has access to an email sent by a member of the Organising Committee, Sanjay Mohindroo, to Ashish Patel, the owner of AM Films in UK that provided services during the Queen's Baton Relay function held in October last year. AM Films is now under the scanner of the UK Government. (Read: CWG: UK firm AM Films dubious? NDTV accesses documents)
The e-mail clearly shows Sanjay Mohindroo, known to be close to OC Chairman Suresh Kalmadi, essentially telling Ashish Patel what prices to quote for cabs during the Queen's Baton Relay in London. (Read: Who is Ashish Patel?)
In the email, Mohindroo asks Patel to quote 450 pounds a day for a cab, while a luxury cab costs no more than 250 pounds a day in London. Patel's own company charges 150 pounds a day for a Merc S Class.
Sanjay Mohindroo sent the email from his personal account and did not mark a copy to any other OC member. Also, the email clearly reflects the level of familiarity between Mohindroo and Ashish Patel.
When NDTV spoke to Ashish Patel for his reaction to the email, he denied that Mohindroo was the one dictating the cab hire rates. He insisted that it was he who had quoted those rates and Mohindroo merely sent the email to confirm the pricing. He also denied that the cab hire rates were inflated. (Watch: Cab rates not inflated: Ashish Patel)
On Tuesday, Lalit Bhanot, the Secretary General of the CWG Organising Committee, acknowledged receiving a letter from the Sports Ministry seeking the removal of OC members Sanjay Mohindroo and TS Darbari for their alleged links to Patel and his firms. (Who is TS Darbari?)
Kalmadi, the Chairman of the Organising Committee, has all this while denied that his team indulged in financial or other irregularities. But Tuesday brought another dent to the claim that Team Kalmadi has played completely by the book. (Read: Corruption scandal hits CWG, organisers deny charges)
The biggest challenge for him so far has been explaining why UK-based firms AM Films and its sister-concern AM Cars were paid nearly 200,000 pounds without a contract in place.
Kalmadi claimed last week that the firm was recommended by the Indian High Commission in UK; he produced, as evidence, a letter from the High Commission that cleared AM Cars as an approved vendor for transportation.
But the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday denied that. At a meeting with Kalmadi, Foreign Minister SM Krishna reportedly provided another version of the letter which makes no reference to AM, or its owner, Ashish Patel. (Read: Kalmadi denies corruption charges, takes on Indian High Commission in London)
The letter in question was written by Raju Sebastian, a protocol official at the Indian High Commission, and is dated October 13, 2009. The Foreign Office claims that Sebastian made no mention of Ashish Patel's company; it merely informed the Organising Committee of the rates charged by vendors whose records were available with the High Commission. The implicit allegation: that the documents released by Team Kalmadi were forged.
Kalmadi reacted by setting up a three-member team to investigate the charges.
The Organising Committee began dealing with AM Cars without a contract. There was no tender process followed. As AM Cars went into liquidation, payments and business for the Commonwealth Games were transferred to AM Films. While this is startling for business protocol -especially when such huge amounts of money is involved - what makes the entire process even more suspect is that there seemed to be little concern over AM's owner- Patel, and his less-than-sterling track record.
Legal documents show Patel had a predilection for setting up businesses, changing their registered addresses and management, and shutting them down.
Kalmadi claims that the paperwork was skipped because there simply wasn't time - he says a week before the Queen's Baton Relay in London on October 29 last year, British officials pointed out that mobile video screens, portable toilets and ambulances had to be provided for the ceremony. (Watch: Suresh Kalmadi to NDTV on corruption charges)
Video Special: Corruption scandal hits CWG
NDTV has access to an email sent by a member of the Organising Committee, Sanjay Mohindroo, to Ashish Patel, the owner of AM Films in UK that provided services during the Queen's Baton Relay function held in October last year. AM Films is now under the scanner of the UK Government. (Read: CWG: UK firm AM Films dubious? NDTV accesses documents)
The e-mail clearly shows Sanjay Mohindroo, known to be close to OC Chairman Suresh Kalmadi, essentially telling Ashish Patel what prices to quote for cabs during the Queen's Baton Relay in London. (Read: Who is Ashish Patel?)
In the email, Mohindroo asks Patel to quote 450 pounds a day for a cab, while a luxury cab costs no more than 250 pounds a day in London. Patel's own company charges 150 pounds a day for a Merc S Class.
Sanjay Mohindroo sent the email from his personal account and did not mark a copy to any other OC member. Also, the email clearly reflects the level of familiarity between Mohindroo and Ashish Patel.
When NDTV spoke to Ashish Patel for his reaction to the email, he denied that Mohindroo was the one dictating the cab hire rates. He insisted that it was he who had quoted those rates and Mohindroo merely sent the email to confirm the pricing. He also denied that the cab hire rates were inflated. (Watch: Cab rates not inflated: Ashish Patel)
On Tuesday, Lalit Bhanot, the Secretary General of the CWG Organising Committee, acknowledged receiving a letter from the Sports Ministry seeking the removal of OC members Sanjay Mohindroo and TS Darbari for their alleged links to Patel and his firms. (Who is TS Darbari?)
Kalmadi, the Chairman of the Organising Committee, has all this while denied that his team indulged in financial or other irregularities. But Tuesday brought another dent to the claim that Team Kalmadi has played completely by the book. (Read: Corruption scandal hits CWG, organisers deny charges)
The biggest challenge for him so far has been explaining why UK-based firms AM Films and its sister-concern AM Cars were paid nearly 200,000 pounds without a contract in place.
Kalmadi claimed last week that the firm was recommended by the Indian High Commission in UK; he produced, as evidence, a letter from the High Commission that cleared AM Cars as an approved vendor for transportation.
But the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday denied that. At a meeting with Kalmadi, Foreign Minister SM Krishna reportedly provided another version of the letter which makes no reference to AM, or its owner, Ashish Patel. (Read: Kalmadi denies corruption charges, takes on Indian High Commission in London)
The letter in question was written by Raju Sebastian, a protocol official at the Indian High Commission, and is dated October 13, 2009. The Foreign Office claims that Sebastian made no mention of Ashish Patel's company; it merely informed the Organising Committee of the rates charged by vendors whose records were available with the High Commission. The implicit allegation: that the documents released by Team Kalmadi were forged.
Kalmadi reacted by setting up a three-member team to investigate the charges.
The Organising Committee began dealing with AM Cars without a contract. There was no tender process followed. As AM Cars went into liquidation, payments and business for the Commonwealth Games were transferred to AM Films. While this is startling for business protocol -especially when such huge amounts of money is involved - what makes the entire process even more suspect is that there seemed to be little concern over AM's owner- Patel, and his less-than-sterling track record.
Legal documents show Patel had a predilection for setting up businesses, changing their registered addresses and management, and shutting them down.
Kalmadi claims that the paperwork was skipped because there simply wasn't time - he says a week before the Queen's Baton Relay in London on October 29 last year, British officials pointed out that mobile video screens, portable toilets and ambulances had to be provided for the ceremony. (Watch: Suresh Kalmadi to NDTV on corruption charges)
Video Special: Corruption scandal hits CWG
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